Djokovic: “We don’t have time to name all my injuries!”
Novak Djokovic knows that a Grand Slam is bound to be a physical test for him as one of the few thirtysomethings left in the draw
Novak Djokovic wipes sweat from his brow (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)
Novak Djokovic was put through his paces by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina en route to the fourth round of Roland-Garros, with the first two sets taking three hours in the Paris sunshine before a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2 win.
And asked about his physical condition in the press conference afterwards, the Serb replied: “Look, we don’t have much time to start to name the many injuries I have, and the list is quite long.
“So, I mean, you know, I don’t want to sit here and talk about these things that are not preventing me from playing. I still kept on playing. These are the circumstances that you, as a professional athlete, have to deal with. Accept it. Sometimes you need help from physio during the match. Sometimes you need pills. Sometimes you need help from the god or angels, or whoever. Sometimes you just have to deal with the reality.
“Reality for me nowadays is that, yeah, my body is responding differently than it did few years ago. You know, I have to adjust to this new reality, so to say. But at the end of the day, I managed to finish the match, as I said. And, you know, on the court you try to do your best, everything possible, so you can finish the match and win. That’s what happened in the end.”
Djokovic: I have my doubts – we all do
Regardless of his injuries or fatigue, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has still not dropped a set so far this tournament.
“I’m very self-critical, so I know that I can always do better and I can always play better. But I also try to remind myself, as also the people in my team try to remind me daily, that there are a lot of positives, that I have to try to stay optimistic and look ahead and be in the moment, try to make the most out of it.
It’s normal that during the tournament, regardless of the history that I have or experience or whatever, that I have my doubts. We all have our doubts. It’s important to understand what are your strengths, as well, and focus on those, and deal as you said, you know, deal with what you have at the moment.
“I’m happy with where I am at the moment with my game. Can it be better? Certainly. Certainly.
“I still didn’t drop a set. I did play quite a few tiebreaks. But, you know, look, it’s important to keep going. I have been in this situation really a lot of times in my career, so entering the second week, the matches, you have to expect that the matches are only going to get tougher.
“But if they don’t get tougher, then it’s great, but I have to be ready for it.”
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